The senior judge says the law mandates that a person who’s charged should be brought before a court at the earliest possible time.

Judge McIntosh says she can’t condone the behavior from the police, adding that the practice must be ‘condemned’.

The judge charged that it’s the practice in St Catherine to keep prisoners in custody for protracted periods before taking them to court.

She says she has already spoken to the police about the matter but it still persists.

The accused, Dwayne Virgo, was charged with possession of an offensive weapon.

Attorney at Law, Ramone Foster, told the court that the State had breached Virgo’s rights.
Judge McIntosh noted that it’s a breach of a prisoner’s constitutional right and the Bail Act to keep him in custody for a protracted period without putting him before the court.